Anna Marie Hahn
Anna Marie Hahn (* July 7, 1906 in the Kingdom of Bavaria as Anna Marie Filser , † December 7, 1938 in Columbus ) was a German - American serial killer who was one of the first women to be executed on the electric chair in the USA .
She was held responsible for the deaths of five men between 1932 and 1937 who died of arsenic poisoning. After the discovery of her crimes, which caused a spectacular sensation in the American public, she was also referred to as Arsenic Anna or Blonde Borgia (a reference to the medieval noble family known for the poisonings committed by its members).
Life
Anna Marie Hahn was the youngest of twelve children from a wealthy family. As a teenager, she allegedly had a relationship with a Viennese doctor who gave birth to a son named Oskar. She gave birth to him at the age of 20. In 1929 she emigrated with him to the USA and settled in Cincinnati , where she had relatives. According to her, for which no further evidence is available, she was accompanied by the doctor whom she claims to have married earlier and who is said to have died shortly after the move.
What is certain is that she married the telegraph operator Philip Hahn in 1930. He then gave up his job at Western Union to help her run a bakery that they had previously acquired. Neither the bakery nor any deli they tried afterwards became a success. Anna Marie Hahn was already addicted to gambling at this point . In order to obtain the necessary funds, she tried to defraud insurance companies. Finally she offered her services as a nurse to older men in order to get their money.
In November 1937 she was sentenced to death in a high-profile (“the biggest mass murderer of the century”), four-week trial for the murder of 78-year-old Jacob Wagner. Hahn was executed in the electric chair at Ohio State Penitentiary on December 7, 1938 at 8:11 pm . Until the end she protested her innocence. After her death, however, a 20-page record was revealed in which she confessed to four homicides.
Victim
Anna Marie Hahn's first victim was Ernest Koch. He died on May 6, 1932, shortly after becoming friends with her. He bequeathed her a house.
Albert Parker died at the age of 72 after using Hahn's services. Before that, she borrowed money from him.
The 78-year-old Jacob Wagner passed away on June 3, 1937 after being poisoned with arsenic and croton oil . He left $ 17,000 in cash for the "beloved niece" Anna.
She received $ 15,000 from 67-year-old George Gsellman in the period before his death.
The 62-year-old George Heiss became suspicious after surviving a poison attack by Hahn and sent her away, but did not inform the authorities.
Hahn's last victim was 67-year-old George Obendoerfer. Her exposure was accidentally discovered shortly after his death on August 1, 1937, in connection with the theft of a diamond ring that she had stolen the day before from a room in the hotel in which she and Obendoerfer stayed. An autopsy showed that he had large amounts of arsenic in his body. She was arrested on August 10, 1937 in Cincinnati.
literature
- Diana Britt Franklin: The Good-bye Door . Kent, Ohio, Kent State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87338-874-0
Web links
- David Lohr: Arsenic Anna: The True Story of Anna Marie Hahn. crimelibrary.com, accessed August 5, 2014 .
- Indictment will be asked today in 'poison plot'. The Daily Times, August 11, 1937, accessed August 5, 2014 .
- Mrs. Hahn begs for mercy, then dies in Electric Chair. The Pittsburgh Press, December 8, 1938, accessed August 5, 2014 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hahn, Anna Marie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Filser, Anna Marie (maiden name); Arsenic Anna; Blonde Borgia |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-American serial killer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 7, 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kingdom of Bavaria |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 7, 1938 |
| Place of death | Columbus |